Why New Process Gear workers risked it all

Syracuse -- Seven union leaders tried to explain the deal to save New Process Gear over the boos of 800 United Auto Workers. Many stood at the back and along the sides of the hall, rather than line up on benches.

They had heard the rumors about more wage cuts and the loss of vacation. That the plant would close if they didn't accept Magna Powertrain's offer. And they weren't happy.

"It's not a message I wanted to deliver, and it was no place I wanted to be," UAW Local 624 President Scott Stanton said afterward. "It was tough to get that message out with all that anger in the room."

Over the next four days workers rejected the contract 843 to 251, and Magna announced plans to close the plant. Now a 121-year-old company that survived world wars, a depression, recessions and a Chrysler bankruptcy is dead.

Why did the members of Local 624 risk all in this economy, rejecting a contract that the company said was designed to keep the auto parts plant in DeWitt open and 1,400 people working?

The reasons were personal. Some said they couldn't trust a company that failed to follow through on promises of investment and new business.

"They did not vote to close the plant," Stanton said. "The vote reflected the frustrations of working people having given 100 percent of themselves."

Last Sunday, UAW members arrived at the Center of Progress Building at the state fairgrounds carrying cups of coffee. Some dressed for church had their wives and children in tow. At about 9 a.m., union officials began handing out the proposed contract. Members clustered in groups, shuffling through the thick packet.

The meeting was closed, keeping the public from the shouting and jeers.

"It was the most toxic atmosphere I've ever seen in a union meeting," said Frank Pappalardo, of North Syracuse, who retired in March after 36 years in the plant. Workers lined up eight to ten deep at microphones to sound off and ask questions. One man told the UAW officials on stage that they should all burn in hell.

A year ago the UAW agreed to wage cuts of almost $9 an hour. The company promised $87,500 in payments to ease the transition to a lower wage by 2011. In return, Magna promised to invest millions in new equipment designed to bring in new business.

Terry Wood, of DeWitt, accepted the new wages and began his own financial restructuring. At the meeting he learned Magna wanted even more.

"I bought myself my first used car since I went to Chrysler," he said. "I took the financial steps to be where I needed to be by 2011. I had two more years of restructuring at $20 an hour."

Wood said workers were told that if the plant wiped out a $50 million deficit by July, then the company would keep the plant open and continue the current wages of $20.16 per hour. If the plant came close to breaking even, the company wanted to cut wages to either $16 per hour, or $13 per hour, depending on the job.

And if the plant didn't come close to breaking even, the company planned to close it.

"You can have Bill Gates or Warren Buffett be the plant manager and you cannot meet the benchmark. We are in a financial tsunami," Wood said.

Rich Nesci, 38, builds parts for the Hummer and has worked at New Process Gear for 13 years. He did the math.

Nesci pays about $900 mortgage, plus taxes, on his home in Cicero. His wife works for a dentist and they have two children. If his wages decreased to $13 an hour, he said, he would have had to sell the house. He chose to take unemployment based on his current $20-an-hour pay.

"I don't see how I would have made it," he said. "We're scared. We're terrified. Nobody wants to start over at 38 years old."

The U.S. Department of Labor has already certified the NPG workers for Trade Adjustment Assistance, which means they will receive up to two years of retraining and extended unemployment benefits.

Nesci said he does not know what he will study: "I guess I'm going to try to go into a field that's hiring. Maybe health insurance. I don't know. It sounds crazy and kind of stupid, but we're going to go out of here with our heads held high and we don't regret it," he said.

The proposed contract would have changed seniority rights, which have been the foundation of unions for a century, allowing Magna to lay off senior workers, while keeping less-experienced workers.

After 16 years, forklift driver Michael Rey said he ranks No. 55 on the seniority scale. He can pick and choose his jobs.

The company also wanted employees to work two days before and after a holiday in order to take the day off. And they wanted to cut Rey's vacation from three to two weeks and force him to take it when the plant shuts down, usually in July.

Rey said he was sick of the company's false promises and had no hope that it was going to stay open through the year.

He called the unemployment office for information. At $20 an hour, he would be at the top of the unemployment scale. "I felt like my choice was 'vote no to close it now' or 'vote yes to close it in six or seven months,' " he said.

Rey, 39, plans to train for work in respiratory therapy because "I don't think the medical field is going anywhere."

It sounded to Dan Callas, a machine repairman, like the company was going to be able to lay people off without having a specific reason. Even with wage cuts, he did not see how it all was going to add up to $50 million in savings for the company.

"The little stuff they want to take away from us would not even come close to bridging that gap," he said.

Nael Abraham has worked for nine years on a machine that makes gears for Dodge models. Magna promised last year that it would buy new machines. But Abraham has not seen them. He's only seen old machines leave the plant. Abraham said he knew he would lose his job and his family's sole income.

"You know what? This is a proud work force," he said. "We didn't lay down. People are saying we're walking out with a black eye, but at least we're not walking out with two black eyes."

Wood, Nesci, Callas, Rey and Abraham all voted no on the contract.

As a retiree, Ralph Lyke didn't get to vote, but his would have been "yes."

"They didn't have time to vote with their heads," he said. "There was no consideration of the people who came before you, the people who built this union and earned their retirement. There was no consideration for the people to come, who want to work here."

Lyke said he thought the conversation at the meeting sounded like it came from people who were not aware that the economy is falling apart outside the four walls of the factory.

"No person likes to see their standard of living go down, but they have to look at the bigger picture," he said. "One of our members made the comment that $13 an hour is not worth getting up for. They don't know what the real world is like."

Callas said that after the vote and the company's announcement, he said it felt like a great weight lifted. "At least now we can have direction to the future," he said. "Nobody wants to lose their job, but now we can start planning."